The invention relates to a control device of a high voltage electrical circuit breaker having one (or more) arc chute with main contacts shunted by one (or more) parallel circuit with closing resistors connected in series with inserter contacts, comprising an articulated rod mechanism connecting the main and inserter contacts to close the inserter contacts electrically just before electrical closing of the main contacts and to reopen the inserter contacts after closing of the main contacts. A sliding control rod linking said articulated rod mechanism to a hydraulic, mechanical or air-operated control unit, one (or more) auxiliary electrical contact mechanically actuated by the rod or the control unit to represent respectively the opening and closing positions of the main contacts and an electrical transmission circuit of a circuit breaker opening order to said control unit, in which electrical circuit said auxiliary contact is inserted in such a way as to transmit the opening order only in the closing position of the main contacts.
A control device of the kind mentioned receives closing and tripping orders in electrical form, these electrical orders being transformed into hydraulic orders executed by a jack actuating a sliding rod controlling closing and opening of the circuit breaker contacts. The electrical control circuit comprises safety features preventing any operator error, notably an auxiliary contact accurately representing the circuit breaker closed position. The operations are extremely high-speed, requiring a few tens of milliseconds only, and it is indispensable that perfect synchronization be ensured in order to avoid damaging a circuit breaker. More particularly in the case of the circuit breaker closing on a fault the circuit breaker must open quickly, the operation sequence nonetheless being respected. When a closing operation takes place, the inserter contacts close first to insert the resistors in the circuit and limit the voltage surges on closing of the main contacts which takes place just after closing of the inserter contacts. The inserter contacts are subsequently re-opened so as to set the circuit breaker to a position ready for tripping. The auxiliary contact, inserted in the electrical control circuit, notably prevents an electrical tripping order being transmitted before the inserter contacts have opened. It is clear that opening of the main contacts before opening of the inserter contacts would cause an arc on the latter contacts bringing about damage to the circuit breaker. State-of-the-art control devices comprise hydraulically-controlled auxiliary contacts and synchronization and time delay can be ensured with sufficient accuracy for the circuit breaker to operate satisfactorily. These hydraulic controls are however costly and complicated, and the object of the present invention is to provide a simplification and a considerable reduction in the production costs of these auxiliary contact control devices, and in addition to reduce the dimensions and complexity of the installation.